Dood

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1510003501' post='3403241'] What heath robinson contraption are you coming up with now!? [/quote] Ha ha ha ha ha!!!! You know me so well! - Actually it's just an interface for a non-XLR-P48 device but don't want anything too big and also want a headphone monitor.

I'm on the look out for a small mixer type solution. It must have two XLR inputs with 48v phantom power on both channels. It must be able to pan each channel left and right. It must have a headphone output with separate level. It can have an additional stereo channel input. The Mackie 402 seems to be on the right track, but still would like smaller before I go down the custom route which would of course be £££'s more.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1509985858' post='3403047'] There's a reason for this disclaimer: [i]As long as you use TC cabinets, most of our amps can actually handle 3 cabs simultaneously. [/i] The reason is that they're not 8 ohm cabs, otherwise their amps would be able to handle any three 8 ohm cabs. [i]In BGM issue #6 they measured the RS210 and RS212 at 10.54 Ohms and 11.54 Ohms respectively.[/i] [/quote] I am so pleased, because when they first announced the range's ability, that's exactly what I hypothesised here on BC without being able to test it myself at the time!

On the subject of Radiograms, ours had a problem with the right hand audio channel, so I lifted the amp guts out of the wooden shell and used my little electronics knowledge I had to build a low pass filter so I could hook it up to my hifi and use the big speakers as a sub!

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1509695347' post='3400864'] There was the time I made my own FM transmitter. I think it was a Maplin kit which I built into an old Colmans mustard tin. I calibrated it by tuning the Bush hifi to 108MHz and then manually tweaking the inductor coil on the transmitter until I got a cleanish signal. That was back in the day when 108MHz upwards was used by the emergency services! [/quote] Oh wow! I did the same!! Mine was a kit from one of the electronics magazines. Not sure which, Elektor, Practical Electronics or Maplin. I tweaked an ‘FM Bug’ schematic to take the level of my bass and demonstrated it in my 4th year CDT classes.. Year 10 in new money. It’s was great, if you didn’t stray from the room!

[quote name='CameronJ' timestamp='1509702141' post='3400932'] If I'm being honest with myself, a good 80% of the Helix attraction for me is the excellent routing options. The many ins/outs, fx loops etc are tickling my geek gland. [/quote] I have to agree, the attraction of the Helix is that too. I've always used multiple signal paths when creating my sounds and maybe I felt a little limited by the last pedal board I had as all the paths had to converge within it. Helix is offering up so many options. Even running vocal paths, acoustic instruments and IEM mixes through it would be a god send on so many levels... if I ever get the time to put it to good use lol. I just want to attempt to model my favourite drive pedal, then It should in theory be an easy swap over. But then I need to find 100 quid for a flight case to put it in... yikes!

I love Helix, it's absolutely brilliant. The sounds, the effects routing, just great. but, I'm really finding ZERO time to spend with it to get it set up and this it hasn't even reached a gig yet. I've spent more time fiddling with the Native plug-in. I'm beginning to wonder if I actually need it at all!

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1509533027' post='3399626'] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4]Just been reading The Dood’s thread..[/size][/size][/font][/color] [/quote] It wasn't my OP lol, but thank you for this one as it's making interesting reading too!

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1509533027' post='3399626'] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4]Just been reading The Dood’s thread asking: [b][i]Is there any really bad new gear out there[/i][/b]? and chris b posted, [i]“[b]When I started I played bass lines on a Spanish guitar, and an amp was out of the question. A friend used his parents radiogram instead of an amp.[/b][/i][i][b]Today's rubbish gear is sheer luxury compared to the gear we started on back then[/b]”.[/i][/size][/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4]And this prompted me to start this thread, I know there have been a few threads discussing our first basses, but I thought it might be interesting to find out what other bits and pieces we used all those years ago to make music when we were starting out.[/size][/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4]I for one started off in the mid-sixties playing bass on an acoustic guitar strung with mono filament wound strings to make it sound a bit “bassier”, I put the cheap plastic mic that came with my Dad’s Philips Cossar tape recorder inside the soundhole, then plugged it into the mic-in socket on the tape recorder and away I went, it was only a little bit louder than playing acoustically, but being just a kid of about ten or eleven, the extra volume made me feel like a rock god! mind you, after a few months the tiny speaker was totally knackered.[/size][/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica]The lad next door also played guitar through his parent's tape recorder, and we got together with another mate who played along with us on a kids snare drum which had Ringo’s head on the skin, and a tiny little cymbal that came with it.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=3][size=4]These days a Squier starter bass and amp would probably cost less in real terms than what my acoustic guitar and tape recorder did back then, and definitely would have sounded better![/size][/size][/font][/color] Edit: Thought I would add a pic of the tape recorder I used at the time. [/quote] There's lots to tell on the subject, but I built my speaker cabinets, pedals. preamp and power amplifier when I was in my teens because I couldn't afford to buy the real stuff. It took me ages to do and I was very fortunate that I was given some old speaker cones, wood and old IT kit for putting my amplifier in. I must also thank a wonderful chap called Steve Yelding who used to work for Marshall Amplification when I was a teen. sadly, no longer with us. He used to answer letters I sent (via my mum's work fax machine ha ha!) and helped me build my first 'distortion preamp' which featured a clean bass preamplifier and a guitar amp distortion channel in one box that you could mix together. Looking back, I was young and it was a long time ago long, before the likes of the current crop of 'blendable' pedals even existed

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1509485908' post='3399403'] This is Billy Sheehan playing bass on this Richie Kotzen song (and Pat Torpey on drums) [b]It's definitely not Billy's usual tone.[/b] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5O5kxntR2w[/media] [/quote] Probably say the same for the DLR era too!

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1509487865' post='3399429'] The worst bass I've owned was a Tuscany 'Bird' bass. The Bird bass was the absolute pits. A junk Chinese 'Rickenfaker' with badly voiced and badly mis-matched pickups. Soft, junk wood, a terrible rippled finish with no clear coat, cheap hardware and crap fretwork. Absolute junk from top to bottom. [/quote] Tuscany also did a Sandberg copy. I had a pair in to do a review of some pickups made by another company. The pickups would have been brilliant if they weren't in the somewhat questionable instruments I had to work with.

Cheap "Guitars for kids". Awful and totally embarrassing, because they are rubbish for kids to learn on. They sound bad, they play even worse and don't even get me started on the tuning problems.

Yup, I've sat with Billy whilst he played without any 'effects'. There is quite a lot in his core tone that comes from just the bass itself. The mix of the Dimarzio pickups, even without the dual signal path routing still has a certain 'something' which is rather lovely to the ear. Oh and I suppose if you are the kinda person to say 'its all in the fingers', then yes, Billy does sound like Billy even when he isn't playing *that* pickup configuration.

According to the website, both 4 and 5 string models are both passive, so electronic ‘hiss’ won’t be generated by that part of the signal chain. I’d start looking elsewhere such as amplifier or pedals.

It's worth noting that if you use UPS through Parcel2Go that you don't get the benefit of both couriers insurance or T&C's. I think UPS will say 'tough, you booked it through Parcel2Go' if anything goes wrong. I believe I am right in saying that.

I did, but a cool tip is that B&Q do some decent steel screws that have the small heads you need for Schallers, but they are longer than the daft ones you get in the Schaller set. Change to those and everything seemed to stay put. Failing that, a little bit of Loctite or a slither from a cocktail stick in the hole before driving the screw back in again should do the trick

Not surprisingly, I've had my mits on one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqSMMLsr4yM I thought it was great and would love to get one on my own board when finances allow.

We're gonna need to know what pickups you've put in and how they are wired, but it does sound like you either have a wiring situation or the pickups aren't matched well. Don't forget also that if the pickups are wired to an existing preamp, some have a problem with impedance mismatch.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1508677977' post='3393688'] Long excursion maybe, but they're still only 5 inch drivers. Four of them have less cone area than a single ten. [/quote] I have to say that was my immediate reaction. I'd be very hard pushed to gig with a single 10" speaker, unless It was a sing song around Bagpuss's house with the mice. edit: added smileys as I'm joking around

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1508523993' post='3392804'] Must say her Elf looks infinitely better in her pocket than mine does in mine.. [/quote] Not down the front buddy. That's not your pocket lol

Yup, nothing to worry about there at all. Customer service direct is awesome. Just the other day I was on 'skype' with Jim himself having a geek out over gear. We managed to kill two hours I think!

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1508456234' post='3392392'] Care to share why? [/quote] Because I might have to, not because I want to I'm afraid.

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1508235803' post='3390663'] Thanks Skank. B&M are certainly the UK distributor but I hadn't realised they even had an in-house brand. Provenance seems to be very good with the involvement of Patrick James Eggle. My local PMT has a righty Mercury from the range I'm looking at for well under £800 so I'm optimistic about getting change from £850. As luck would have it the window display at Forsyths had the Mercury sitting next to a PJE original parlour (a very plain, unadorned instrument with a cedar top at a whisker under £3k). For a brief moment I did actually think about getting a quote for a PJE lefty, but apparently he doesn't make acoustics any more. No, I didn't know that either. [/quote] I haven't quite decided yet, but I have a Faith Neptune that I may decide to part with. It has recently been upgraded with Gotoh locking tuning keys too.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1508277591' post='3391116'] I bend mine sideways [/quote] [quote name='charic' timestamp='1508402100' post='3391898'] I twist the string to change the pitch [/quote] Chuck Norris just tells mine to bend.

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1508401688' post='3391893'] Thank you. I'll have a listen. [/quote] That's a cool version! I have to admit I always have a pre-emptive cringe reaction when someone says they do a metal version of a pop song. Yes, there are some great, well thought out deconstructions of songs, but my ears want to explode the minute I hear a really obvious 'Djent' ostinato shoe-horned in to the song. I heard a cover of a C Aguilera track the other day that completely shot wide of the mark. Sure, they managed to get some screamo vocals in there and the obligatory double kick drum over cooking, but it just all sounded a bit too... well, I cringed!